The present invention relates to spray guns, such as paint spray guns, and more specifically to mounting brackets for attaching items to the spray gun.
Spray guns have long been used to coat objects with a liquid spray, such as paint, varnish, etc. The spray gun allows a pressurized stream of the liquid spray coating to be applied to the object in a quick and easy manner.
With many of these coatings, it is important to apply the coating evenly to the surface to avoid overspray of the coating and/or leaving uncoated sections on the surface of the object. In order to apply the coating evenly over the entire surface of the object, in many instances it is necessary to position the spray gun a optimum distance from the object to ensure the proper coverage of the object with the coating. However, because spray guns are normally manually operated, variations in the distance between the spray gun and the surface of the object to be coated during the coating process are usually unavoidable.
To reduce the detrimental effects of this distance variation, devices have been developed that effectively measure the distance between the tip of the spray gun and the object surface to ensure that the spray gun is positioned at the optimal distance from the surface, helping ensure proper coverage of the object with the coating. One such device is a laser targeting and feedback device that can be mounted directly to the spray gun.
However, due to the numerous configurations of the spray guns currently in use, a number of different mounting assemblies have resulted that each secure a laser targeting feedback system to a particular spray gun design. For example, Klein, II et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,498 discloses an optical spray coating monitoring system and method. This system includes a sensor head including a bracket used to removably attach the sensor head to a boom extending from the spray gun. The bracket includes a pair of downwardly depending flanges adapted to receive and engage the boom and including adapted to receive a threaded bolt beneath the boom. When the bracket is properly positioned about the boom, a nut threadably engaged to one end of the bolt is tightened on the bolt to compress the bracket into engagement with the boom to fixedly secure the sensor head on the spray gun.
Similar arrangements for other mounting assemblies used to secure other types of devices to spray guns can be found in Sabatelli et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,804 and Brett U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,839. In each of these patents, the mounting assembly is adapted specifically for use with a certain type of paint spray gun configuration, limiting the use of the mounting assembly to that particular gun configuration. As a result, when using a device incorporating a specific mounting assembly, including a laser targeting and feedback system, use of that device is limited to paint spray guns having a configuration compatible with that particular mounting assembly. Furthermore, as each mounting assembly disclosed in the above-mentioned patents utilizes the frictional engagement of a clamping bracket with the spray gun, in many cases the bracket can slide or rotate with respect to the spray gun, thereby placing the device out of alignment with the spray gun. If the device is a laser targeting system, any movement of the device will result in the coating being applied to the object in a less than optimal manner.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a mounting bracket that can securely mount a device such as a laser targeting and feedback system to a spray gun and is capable of being utilized with spray guns having a number of different configurations.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting bracket that can be used with spray guns of varying configurations to support a device, such as a laser targeting and feedback system, on the spray gun.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a mounting bracket that employs a resilient, compressible member capable of frictionally engaging the spray gun to provide a secure attachment of the bracket and device to the spray gun.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a mounting bracket that allows the device secured to the bracket to be adjusted with respect to the bracket in order to properly position the device with respect to the nozzle of the spray gun.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a mounting bracket that has a simple and inexpensive construction and is easy to assemble and use.
The present invention is a mounting bracket used to support a device, e.g., a laser targeting and feedback system, on a spray gun that can be secured to spray guns of various configurations that include an upstanding hook used to hang the spray gun in a storage location when not in use. The bracket comprises a bolt having at least one collar disposed at one end and a compressible member disposed on the bolt between the collar and a head on the bolt. The bolt is adjustably and threadably attached to the collar such that the threaded collar may move along the threaded end of the bolt to compress the member between the bolt head and the collar and engage the spray gun.
Opposite the compressible member, the threaded collar is also attached to a support arm having a first leg attached to the collar and a second leg extending generally perpendicularly from the first leg. The first leg of the support arm is adjustably attached to the threaded collar and the device is adjustably attached to the second leg. This allows the position of the first leg of the support arm to be adjusted relative to the threaded collar and the position of the device to be adjusted relative to the second leg of the support arm to precisely position the device relative to the spray gun.